Vehicles such as motor vehicles having transparent roof portions in the form of fixed or movable glass panels are generally known and include “sun roofs,” “moon roofs,” etc. Such known sun roofs or moon roofs are typically configured as a window-like opening in a relatively small portion of the roof structure and are generally limited to the area between structural members of the vehicle roof such as crossbows or headers. Such known window-like openings typically provided a limited overhead view from the vehicle interior and are not practical for providing a panoramic overhead view from within the vehicle interior due to their limited size and constraints within the roof structure, and the need for structural strength within the roof panel. Further, such glass panels typically do not provide for attaching articles within the interior. Therefore, such known window like openings usually do not provide transparency for the entire roof portion or a substantial portion of the roof portion due to the structural requirements of a conventional roof and the presence of the cross bows, headers, or other structural support features of a conventional roof, and usually do not provide the adaptability to receive various articles for use by the vehicle occupants. Accordingly, due to advancement in interior vehicle design, it has become desirable to have roof panels that are transparent or partially transparent (e.g. glass, etc.) that cover either a large or small portion of the roof area and are adapted to receive articles for use by the vehicle occupants.
Overhead systems with modular storage compartments in the forward portion of vehicles are also generally known and include consoles and structures for mounting items such as lamps, small storage compartments and electronic instrumentation such as compasses, temperature displays and clocks. Such modular systems typically have mounting configurations that permanently attach such articles to a structural portion of the vehicle, whereby installation of article options are typically conducted in a factory setting during vehicle construction and often requires user-selection of the desired articles prior to vehicle assembly, or user acceptance of preinstalled option packages. However, such modular systems typically are mounted to the vehicle roof structure and rely on the roof structure for support and thus do not provide the structural strength or support for the roof portion.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide an overhead system having a transparent panel covering a small portion or a substantial portion of the roof area. It would also be advantageous to provide a support structure for the transparent panel within the vehicle interior that is adaptable for other uses within the vehicle. It would also be advantageous to provide an overhead system with a mounting system configured for interchangeably mounting a wide array of selectively removable, user-oriented articles that are adapted for use within, or in conjunction with, a vehicle. It would also be advantageous to provide such an overhead system along substantially the entire length of the interior overhead portion of a vehicle. It would also be advantageous to provide an overhead system that provides concealed distribution of utilities from vehicle utility supply sources to the interchangeably selected articles. It would be further advantageous to provide an overhead system whereby certain classes of articles are capable of installation only in predetermined portions of a vehicle area to minimize potential distractions to a vehicle operator.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide an overhead system for a vehicle having any one or more of these or other advantageous features.